PFA NEWSLETTER APRIL 2021

President’s Report.

Following on from our recent AGM and the completion of Joe Corcoran’s term of office, I am honoured that the Board of Directors has chosen me to be the new President of PFA.

I hope that with the support of you, our players, that I will be able to do justice to the role.

Many thanks to Joe Corcoran, outgoing President, for his guidance over the past several years. You now deserve to relax and enjoy the game of petanque to the full Joe!

The very recent Easter Nationals competitions at Novar Gardens, South Australia, was voted by everyone to have been a great success. The preparation work by Jonathon Giddings and his large band of willing helpers really paid off and I hope they are all now having a well-earned rest! Our thanks go to the hosting Club, all the volunteers, and the local council and football club (who permitted us to form six extra pistes on their car park, in order to accommodate all the Singles entrants).

Thanks also to the Umpiring team, led by David Shaw, who were constantly vigilant, yet always helpful and friendly, and to the Tournament Director (Joe) and chief scorer (Peter Wells) who all did a sterling job.

Of course, the tournament wouldn’t have proceeded without all the competitors, so thanks to everyone.

Commiserations to the Queenslanders, who were forced to cancel at short notice.

Hopefully, we’ll see you all next year!

It is wonderful to see that competitions are now in full swing throughout the country. Long may that continue!

Finally, it is my fervent hope that all of us can see each other not as adversaries, but as fellow petanquers, all here to enjoy the game we love. I hope that we can all treat each other with dignity and respect and in this way can retain and increase our membership.

Suggestions for improvement are always welcome.

That’s all for now,

Rosemary Wall, President, PFA

Australian National Championships Easter Novar Gardens Adelaide

The Australian Championships, or Festival of Petanque as we call it too, were held at the wonderful Novar Gardens Petanque Club in Adelaide over Easter. It was a packed program over four days with excellent, a bit hot, weather. Congratulations to the Novar Gardens team. You can see the winners of all the Events and Divisions at the PFA website here. And there are some wonderful pictures taken by Louis Fenollar at the website here.

We’ve also sent a survey to all competitors for their feedback. If you haven’t received it please advise the Communications Director.

New Board

At the Easter Festival we also held our AGM. There were four candidates for election to the two vacancies on the Board. Successful candidates were Peter Wells from VIC and Christine Caseris from WA.

New Board Members:

The new official positions on the board are:

Elected Members:

President – Rosemary Wall

Vice President – Jonathan Giddings

Treasurer – Helen Bayet

Secretary – Peter Wells

Communication and Administration – Jeff Langdon

Christine Caseris – who will be assisting Jonathan in the role of overseeing Government Relations

Jeff will also continue to work in the role of Club/League Relations.

Appointed members:

David Shaw and Jean Francois Veyssiere continue their roles chairing the Umpires and Coaches Commissions respectively.

The Board believes that Rosemary is the first female President of the PFA and congratulates her.

Board member Gerard Finette has resigned due to other commitments. We thank Gerard for his contribution.

World Championships - Women and Juniors

COVID permitting, the next World Championships to occur where Australia is involved are the Women’s and Juniors in Thailand in November. The Board will consider its involvement at the next Board meeting.

A note from the Chair of the Umpires Commission

At the very successful Nationals, every player was provided with a free copy of the current Rules of Petanque, the balance of the 300 A5 booklets were distributed to each State.

As you introduce new players (and perhaps look at everyone’s habits!), please reinforce the basic principle of our Sport: When throwing from the circle, both feet must remain in contact with the ground until “the thrown boule has touched the ground”.

Our New website and Player Management system.

If you haven't visited the new website give it a try at petanqueaustralia.org.au. The Revsport player management system is available to Club Administrators. If you club hasn’t nominated a Club Administrator send details to the Communications Director